As part of SpecFicNZ's blogging week, today I'm talking with Grace Bridges. Grace owns the publishing house Splashdown Books, and she is also a
science fiction author and has two published books. A graduate of the University of Auckland
and a translator by trade, she spent eight years globetrotting chiefly in Europe while working for the police.

1) How long has Splashdown been operating?

Officially since 2009, though I worked at self-publishing my own novel in 2007
(Faith Awakened, now re-released through Splashdown). We are about to release
our 23rd title.

2) You’re also an author and have two novels
out: Faith Awakened (2007) and

Legendary Space Pilgrims (2010). What sort
of readers would most enjoy them?

People who enjoy experiencing other
cultures and having their horizons broadened, for a start. Not just because I'm
an international writer with settings beyond the familiar, but also because
science fiction in and of itself is an exercise in expansion of the mind. That
said, my stories are always rooted in reality in one way or another. We don't
have to go very far from our own lives and current technological potential to
find a mind-blowing new idea. I'm all about bringing the two together: ordinary
familiar humanness, and some fresh aspect that gives a new slant on what we
thought we knew. In short, readers who like to reflect and savour are those who
have reacted most positively.

I've been told that my tales stay in
people's memories long after they finish reading.

3) What is it like to sit on both sides of
the table - as author and publisher?

I adore helping people's dreams come true,
by getting their books in print. It is a big thing for anyone to experience,
even if a small press can't offer much in the way of fame and fortune. That is
my favourite part of publishing - helping authors along the learning curve and
watching them develop through it. As an author I still have those pangs of
nerves when I send off a submission. Publishing has not changed that one bit.
And although time is often short, I try my hardest to keep in close contact
with my writer-self, the part of me that gets inspiration and wrestles with
edits and plot holes just the same as anyone on my team.

4) There are a lot of small publishers out
there. What are the signs an author has found a good trustworthy business to
deal with, and what are some of the things to be wary of?

Check out the contract carefully to see what happens with your rights. Be sure
you are happy with the manner in which they revert to you, and make sure that
option is there. Never pay a publisher for services. They should be paying you.
If they want money from you to publish your book, that is a vanity publisher
and must be avoided.

5) As well as the portal of Splashdown,
where else are Splashdown's authors books sold? And what format are they in?
Can I read them on my kindle?

Yes, absolutely, you can! Paperbacks are sold at all the usual online
retailers, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, even some at Whitcoulls NZ (online), but
the best place for Kiwis to get them is the Book Depository, because no shipping is charged and the
pricing is reasonable. They are also available in all ebook formats, of which Kindle
is the most successful. Links to the various retailers and formats are all in
our Bookshop.

6) What's it like to work in publishing
from New Zealand?

Not as hard as you might think. Sure, there
are all sorts of challenges that include technicalities such as coordinating
with team members in different time zones, but also the inability to attend
in-person events in places where they are most likely to succeed. Fiction
doesn't have a good grip in NZ, though I am slowly infecting my friends!

It's all made possible by the miracle of
global distribution and printing in America when that's where books are
wanted. In that sense, I could be anywhere to publish, and in fact have done so
from Germany and New Caledonia. Later
this year I plan to be in the USA
to connect with my team and supporters, continuing to publish as I travel.

7) What type of book are you after to publish right now?

I'm always on the hunt for good speculative fiction. There seems to be plenty
of fantasy all the time, so I'm especially happy when I come across a great
science fiction or supernatural manuscript. My particular favourite is literary
science fiction that explores the poetry of language and consciousness while
also telling an awesome story.